All in My Head
by TheWammy'sHouseReject
Summary: Medusa crosses the bathroom in two strides, pinning her arms on either side of him. she leans in close, still wearing that deceptively kind smile. That smile was poison, and he knew it. "You look so sad, Professor Stein. What's wrong?"


This fanfiction oneshot is brought to you by Soul Eater, which I neither own nor really want to- though it would be insanely cool XDXDXD Anyway, the idea came to me randomly while watching Soul Eater over Christmas break. But due to grade troubles and school trauma, I didn't finish til now DX Sorry folks :

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This fanfic contains Stein/Medusa with hints of Stein/Marie. Don't like it, don't read it XD

For those of you who want to stay, please review when you finish reading :3 Also, as soon as I can manage it, I'm going to upload a more explicit version of this story onto my Archive of Our Own account by the same name :)

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Every sensation seems to be coming from across a yawning, gaping chasm, shrouded in the veil of exhaustion. Stein's eyelids droop,and his head dips dangerously, testament to the days he'd gone without sleep.

_I can't fall asleep. I can't fall asleep, I don't want the nightmares..._

The world feels like it's melting around him, dripping onto the floor with slow, sickening, dripping noises.

_Drip drip drip drip drip_

It's so noisy. No. No... no noise... make it stop. Please... please make it stop.

A haunting red light hangs tantalizingly in front of him, but it vanishes the moment he reaches out to grab it.

_Is it over there? No, it's over there. Over there? No, it's not there either. Damn it, where is it?_

"Stein? Are you alright?"

He jerks back to reality, like a man woken from a deep nightmare. Marie is frowning at him, concern gleaming in her one uncovered eye.

He doesn't answer. Marie shakes her head, and he knows she's scared. Scared for him. Scared of him.

Why?

Because he's mad. He's dirty, infected with insanity.

And he knows it. He knows that this is the reason why he's not allowed out of the house without Marie anymore. This is the reason why he's kept away from the children now. He might hurt them. (He might hurt himself..)

"...I made dinner. Are you hungry?"

Stein wordlessly shook his head. It was the fifth time in a row that he'd turned down a meal... she'd tried arguing with him; tried screaming and begging and threatening in her ineffectual way... but nothing seemed to reach him. Marie didn't have the heart to force food down his throat just yet, so she merely brought a plate and a glass of water over and set it beside him.

"Well, in case you change your mind, it's right here for you."

Stein was rocking back and forth, wringing his hands and muttering incoherently- it was as if he didn't even hear her.

_"What a sweet woman. Don't you think it's noble how she's trying to help you?_"

Stein ceased his rocking and muttering, his eyes frozen wide, staring into some void of space.

Medusa wraps her slender arms around his shoulders and holds him close.

_"She's a fool though, thinking that she can save you with such stupid tokens of affection. You're already too far gone, aren't you?"_

"Shut up," he mumbles, resuming his rhythmic rocking.

She leans in and gently kisses his cheek, her lilting laughter right against his ear.

_"You already belong to me."_

"Shut up."

_"Your body, your soul, they belong to me. You've fought against it for so long- what's the point? You know you're going to give in sooner or later. Why do you keep fighting?"_

"Shut up shut up shut upshutupshut_upshutupSHUTUP_!" He screams. He seizes the glass of water and hurls it against the wall, shattering it into a dozen fragments, sending water everywhere.

Marie is by his side in a second, holding him as he shivers and sobs.

"It's alright, it's alright, it was just a hallucination. You're alright now. It's all in your head."

She strokes his hair, cradling his head against her chest.

_All in my head. All in my head. It's only in my head. None of it's real._

The closeness is maddening, but her touch is so comforting.

_What's that noise? It won't go away..._

"Ooh!" Marie nearly gave him a heart attack with her sudden loudness. "I know, why don't you take a hot shower? I'm sure that'll cheer you right up!"

_Why? Why does she care? Why can't she just leave me alone? Such a loud woman_.

Stein is unresponsive. Marie helps him stand up and walks with him to the bathroom anyway.

"Come on, you can take a shower. We can go for a walk once you've settled down, alright? That'll do some good for you, I'm sure."

Stein nodded, went into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him, to look right into Medusa's cold, golden eyes.

_"We're alone again, Professor Stein,"_ she pointed out, smiling sweetly.

Go away go away go awaygoawaygoawaygoaway...

_"Are you feeling alright? You look so pale."_

_She's not really there. She isn't really there. She's just my imagination. It's all in my head, it isn't real._

_"Silly Stein. Why can't something be real just because it's in your head?"_

Medusa crosses the bathroom in two strides, pinning her arms on either side of him. she leans in close, still wearing that deceptively kind smile. That smile was poison, and he knew it.

_"You look so sad. What's wrong?"_

She leans in close.

_"You're broken. Everyone around you worries about how they can fix you. But you don't want to be fixed, do you?" (It hurts because she's right.)_

A little closer.

_"You want someone who will accept you, no matter how broken you are. You want someone who understands your mind, with all itsdark twists and turns. You want someone who loves you and everything about you. Isn't that right?"_

She brushes her cold, soft lips against his, the barest touch she could manage.

_"You must be miserable here, being locked up like a naughty dog and treated like a child. I would never treat you like that."_

She presses her lips against his again, this time harder, almost bruising. She sweeps her tongue along his lower lip, coaxing Stein's mouth open and slipping inside.

Medusa dominates him. She twists her tongue around his, forces it into every possible crevice in his mouth. She grips his upper arms so tightly that Stein is certain it would leave bruises if she was real.

Medusa breaks off for a moment to let him breathe, then attacks him again. It's absolutely maddening, almost overwhelming.

Stein keeps his hands pressed flat against the bathroom door, refusing to move, staying stubbornly still, until he is released again.

_"Come on now, Stein. Why not enjoy this? Why do you keep denying me?"_

Medusa almost sounds betrayed. Stein forces his eyes closed, and she is gone when he opens them again.

_Just another hallucination._

He strips out of his clothes and turns the shower on scorching hot, as if to burn the thoughts and feelings from his mind. He cranked the screw in his head three times, hoping that the old habit would help clear his mind.

He held his face under the hot water, sighing heavily.

had to forget how she made him feel, how _desperate_ she made him, how badly his body had wanted her...

_"You wanted me? I'm flattered."_

She's not there...she's not there...

Medusa's slender arms wrap around him, and she leans on him. He can feel the swell of her breasts, her slick smooth skin against his back.

_"You have some new scars, Stein. Does Marie know you're tearing yourself apart?"_

"...Go away..."

Medusa trails her fingers lazily down his side, travelling downward where he was beginning to throb with longing.

"Stop."

_"Do you want me?"_

"Leave me alone."

Medusa grabs hold of him, drawing a strangled, needy moan from his mouth.

_"I'll ask again. Do you want me?"_

"...N-no..."

"Your body tells me differently."

The hand that isn't wrapped around him explores the smooth surface of his chest. She's tempting and teasing, so perfect, so brutal in her gentleness.

_"You're so hard already. Don't tell me you don't want this."_

Stein's legs go shaky and weak, and he has to support himself against the tiled wall. It's too much, he feels so amazing, his entire body is on fire.

Medusa knows just how to twist her hand, just what dirty, awful things to whisper in his ear. He gasps and falls to his knees, ready to succumb. He's tired of fighting. He's tired of everyone expecting him to fight. He can't do the impossible. He can't win against the Madness.

Medusa presses her icy lips to his ear, twisted into a wickedly triumphant grin.

_"Call out my name,_" She whispers softly. _"I want you to call out my name when you come."_

_So close, so close, so close..._

A sharp knock at the door, and suddenly the water is cold, and Medusa is gone; there are no hands wrapped around him but his own.

"Stein, are you okay? You've been in there a long time."

_...It's all in my head, right...?_

Stein stays in the water until his arousal subsides, and his head is (mostly) clear again.

He turns off the water and dries himself with a stitched-up towel.

A change of clothes later, and he can (almost) forget about what happened.

Marie is waiting for him, forcing a smile onto her pretty face. She holds out her hand for him to take. He takes it, and allows her to lead him outside. They walk through the gloomy graveyard and out onto a plain dirt road.

"Look at the sunset," Marie says, in a false-cheery voice. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

Silence.

"Doesn't the sky look gorgeous at this time of day?"

"...You can stop that, Marie," Stein says softly.

"Pardon?"

"You can stop pretending that everything's alright. It's okay. You don't need to pretend."

Marie bites her lip to stop its quivering.

"I...I'm fine..."

Stein stops walking.

"You don't need to lie to me, either."

Marie sniffles, then wails and throws her arms around his neck.

"I-I'm just so worried about you," she wails. "It keeps me up at night, I just want you to be better again."

_I'll never get better. I was never good to begin with._

"...I'm scared, Franken. I'm scared that your mind will leave for good one day, and I'll never get you back. Please promise me that won't happen."

Stein slowly raises his arms to rest his hands on her back.

"...I can't make a promise I might not be able to keep, Marie."

Marie whimpers and clings to him tighter.

"...At least...at least promise me you'll try."

Stein doesn't respond to this for a long time. Those images, those hallucinations, they were more freedom than anything he knows.

But he can't do that to Marie. He can't tell her that he now prefers his dreams to reality. So he nods.

"I will. "

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And there's another scene after this, but it'd be too graphic to post on this site. So look out for it on Archive of Our Own, if you want to see it- it puts a whole new meaning to the term "mindfucking." XD


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